Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP Career Opportunities

Established in 1860, Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP is a full-service intellectual property firm with more than 215 attorneys. Practicing together from offices in technology centers throughout the West, Townsend's attorneys pool their expertise for effective representation. Townsend's goal is to help clients realize value through intellectual property.

Inventions, trademarks, works of authorship and trade secrets are among our clients' most important assets. At Townsend, we have assembled a team of attorneys who specialize in protecting your intellectual property. Most of our attorneys have technical degrees to complement their legal education, and many have advanced degrees and industry experience. We have the experience and expertise to respond to our clients' specific needs, and we dedicate our best resources and service toward meeting the goals and business objectives of every client.

• Learn more about our firm's history.
• View our fact sheet.
• Learn more about our work in the legal and local community.

Use the links on the left to explore more about Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP.

For over a century, Townsend has been building on its core strength as one of the world's premier intellectual property firms, and has emerged a dominant litigation firm with international acclaim. Our dedicated team of professionals synthesizes these areas of expertise across a full range of practice capabilities to provide superior, multi-dimensional service. Whether we are writing a patent within the context of a specific competitive landscape, or testing the boundaries of competition law, Townsend delivers customized analysis, added value and strategic advantage to every client.

Antitrust

Biotechnology

Software

Interference

Internet

Litigation

Medical & Surgical Devices

Technology Transactions

Trade Secret

Trademark & Copyright

Townsend's reputation as a premier IP-specialty firm has been recognized by numerous awards from prominent legal and business publications. Listed below are some of the firm's top rankings from 2008 and 2009.

Awards & Rankings 2009

• Minority Law Journal
  • The Minority Law Journal's 2009 Diversity Scorecare ranking place Townsend second in the category of overall diversity among more than 250 of the largest law firms in the U.S. (as ranked by the American Lawyer and National Law Journal).
• Intellectual Property Today
  • In 2009, Townsend was recognized as a leading patent law firm in Intellectual Property Today's survey "2009 Top Patent Firms." Townsend ranked tenth among U.S. firms as ranked by the number of patent issued to clients in 2008.

Awards & Rankings 2008

• Chambers Global
  • Towsend was recognized by Chambers Global as one of the leading IP firms in the U.S. in the "2008 Client's Guide to the World's Leading Lawyers for Business."
    
• IP Law & Business
  • Townsend was recognized among the top patent litigation law firms in the 2008 IP Law & Business annual Patent Litigation Survey,
• Managing Intellectual Property
  • Managing Intellectual Property ("MIP") North American IP Awards - Townsend was named by MIP as "Firm of the Year" for U.S. patent prosecution

Townsend is the right place for you if you are seeking an interesting and challenging professional experience on the cutting edge of law and technology. For almost 150 years, the visionary attorneys, paralegals and other professionals at Townsend have worked together to influence and shape the growth of businesses, industries, and technologies around the world. In the process Townsend has achieved an unequaled reputation as the premier firm in the country specializing in intellectual property and complex litigation.

At Townsend, you have an exciting opportunity to work with people who are passionate about what they do. Many of our attorneys are renowned experts in their field, while our clients are frequently industry pioneers transforming the boundaries of innovation and competition.

Stimulating Atmosphere

In every Townsend office, you will find bright, devoted colleagues and mentors working in a relaxed, friendly and pleasant environment. We have year-round casual business attire and encourage a balanced approach to work and personal endeavors. Our offices are ideally located to facilitate close client contact and provide easy accessibility to a broad range of breathtaking cultural and recreational activities.

Diverse Client Base

Our team approach allows Townsend attorneys to be involved in every phase of client development, including strategic counseling, patent prosecution, technology licensing and, if necessary, litigation. Our clients come in every shape and size, from inventors and start-ups to Fortune 50 international conglomerates, major universities and government entities. We are not limited to representing only one side of an issue. In fact, on several occasions we have transformed a beleaguered defendant into a victorious plaintiff, such as in our acclaimed $450 million victory against industry giant Intel.

Broad Range of Experience

We are also not limited to any particular industry, although we are often involved in important, complex high tech and biotech cases where the stakes are high. Given our core strength as intellectual property specialists, we have an advantage in detecting and understanding subtle issues. For example, our incredible repository of in-house expertise contributed to our $1.1 billion celebrated antitrust and unfair competition victory over Microsoft.

Successful Formula

The success of our multipractice team approach is obvious. We have maintained our status as a premier intellectual property firm for over 150 years, and we continue to attract and retain legal professionals of the highest caliber. Most importantly, we consistently deliver superior results to our clients. We invite you to discover for yourself the secret of our success. Visit our Resources section on the site to see the types of cases on which our attorneys work.

Learn more about our benefits.

Diversity is one of Townsend’s core values, a reflection of who we are as a firm. We celebrate differences and honor every team member — male or female, gay or straight, first- or fifth-generation American. Diversity, we believe, contributes to our compassion, our unity and especially our strength as the leading intellectual property law firm. To that end, enhancing diversity is a primary consideration in our hiring practices. For example, we sponsor events for minority and women’s groups at law schools, including La Raza, the Black Law Students Association and Asian Pacific Islander.

Women are represented on every major committee at Townsend, including the policy committee, the compensation committee, the partner nominating committee and the associate review committee. Our female attorneys and patent agents meet quarterly by teleconference and annually in person to discuss issues particular to women professionals, including alternative work schedules and business development.

Townsend’s nine-member Diversity Committee, comprised of partners, associates, and staff from all of Townsend’s offices, meets at least once a month. We offer seminars and workshops directed towards increasing awareness of issues relating to diversity. In conjunction with several clients own diversity goals, we regularly report our diversity statistics to the clients.

At Townsend, a commitment to diversity also compels us to act. We provide legal services to low-income individuals and non-profit organizations, mentor disadvantaged children and donate time and money to human rights organizations. We are also actively involved in the California Minority Counsel Program.

Our Commitment

With respect to diversity, Townsend’s goals are to:

• Create a working environment where everyone has equal opportunity for achievement and advancement.
• Promote and improve Townsend’s leadership position in diversity at all levels by retaining and promoting diverse legal talent.
• Recruit outstanding talent in a manner designed to improve Townsend’s diversity.
• Collaborate with existing and potential clients to improve diversity in the legal profession.
• Work diligently with bar associations and other community organizations to foster diversity in the legal profession.

Relevant Statistics

• Of our 83 partners, 15 are women and 10 are minorities.
• Of our 89 associates and special counsel, 20 are women and 32 are minorities.

Learn more of Townsend and Townsend and Crew's diversity efforts.

Below are a few of the many individuals that help Townsend and Townsend and Crew maintain the balanced work environment and stimulating atmosphere that has enabled us to attract and retain some of the finest talent in the world.

James G. Gilliland Jr. Partner San Francisco

Mr. Gilliland has served as Chairman of the firm since 2001. He has specialized in the handling of complex commercial and intellectual property litigation since 1980. His practice has focused extensively on the representation of high-technology companies in litigation regarding claims based upon patent, copyright and trademark infringement, breach of contract, breach of warranty, fraud, unfair competition and violation of the antitrust laws. He has appeared in federal and state trial and appellate courts around the United States. Learn more about Mr. Gilliland.

Gene Crew Partner San Francisco

Mr. Crew has engaged in a commercial litigation practice for the past 40 years of his career and has tried many cases of all kinds, involving a wide range of industries and markets, in both federal and state courts throughout the country. While he has specialized in antitrust and unfair business practices litigation, Mr. Crew has tried a wide variety of commercial disputes: antitrust, patent disputes, contract disputes, theft of trade secrets, commercial fraud, trade libel, and Lanham Act violations, etc. Mr. Crew has argued cases before the United States Supreme Court and numerous federal and state trial and appellate courts throughout the country. Learn more about Mr. Crew.

Jordan Trent Jones Partner Palo Alto

Mr. Jones specializes in intellectual property matters with an emphasis on patent infringement litigation and other technology-related litigation. His practice includes the representation of companies from a variety of industries. He has worked on litigation matters in various states, including California, Delaware, Massachusetts, Texas, and Virginia. Mr. Jones has also represented clients in investigations pending before the U.S. International Trade Commission. The majority of his technology experience has involved electronics, semiconductor devices, semiconductor manufacturing and fabrication processes, computer memory devices, computer peripherals, computer software, and Internet-related technologies. Learn more about Mr. Jones.

Mehrnaz Boroumand Smith Partner San Francisco

Ms. Boroumand Smith specializes in the handling of complex commercial and intellectual property litigation matters. Her practice focuses on representing high technology companies in litigation regarding claims of patent, copyright, and trademark infringement, as well as breach of contract, breach of warranty, fraud, unfair competition and misappropriation of trade secrets. Her experience has ranged from working for clients in the IT outsourcing, software, laser, video gaming, arts and crafts, and toy industries as well as the semiconductor industry. She has appeared in federal and state courts and is also experienced in arbitration matters. Learn more about Ms. Boroumand Smith.

Babak S. Sani Partner San Francisco

Mr. Sani has been with Townsend since 1990 and currently leads the firm's Electronics & Software Practice Group. Mr. Sani's practice focuses on intellectual property counseling and in particular on domestic and international patent protection and patent analysis involving a variety of technologies in the electronics field. He assists clients with planning and managing patent programs, analyzing patents versus products and formulating validity and infringement opinions. Learn more about Mr. Sani.

San Francisco Office Est. 1860 Two Embarcadero Center Eighth Floor San Francisco, CA 94111-3834 tel 415.576.0200 fax 415.576.0300 Map	Palo Alto Office Est. 1960 379 Lytton Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94301-1431 tel 650.326.2400 fax 650.326.2422 Map	Walnut Creek Office Est. 2000 2175 North California Boulevard Suite 600 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 tel 925.472.5000 fax 925.472.8895 Map
San Diego Office Est. 2003 12730 High Bluff Drive Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92130 tel 858.350.6100 fax 858.350.6111 Map	Denver Office Est. 1995 1200 Seventeenth Street Suite 2700 Denver, CO 80202 tel 303.571.4000 fax 303.571.4321 Map	Seattle Office Est. 1989 1420 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4400 Seattle, WA 98101-2325 tel 206.467.9600 fax 206.623.6793 Map
Tokyo Office Est. 2006 The Imperial Hotel Tower 15th Floor 1-1-1 Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, 100-0011 Tokyo, Japan tel +81.3.3507.5609 fax +81.3.3507.5930	No Picture Available Washington, D.C. Office Est. 2007 601 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 900, South Building Washington, D.C. 20004-2601 tel (202) 434-8200 fax (202) 434-8171